Perambulator for invalids



Jan. 30, 1951 N. HACK 2,539,577

PERAMBULATOR FOR INVALIDS Filed Oct. 2, 1948 2 Sheets-Sheet l INVEN TOR,

BY a Jan. 30, 1951 N. HACK PERAMBULATOR FOR INVALIDS Filed 001'. 2, 19482 Sheets-Sheet 2 I N V EN TOR,

Patented Jan. 30, 1951 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE PERAMBULATOR FORINVALIDS Nathan Hack, Santa Monica, Calif.

Application October 2, 1348, Serial No. 52,554

6 Claims.

This invention relates to improvements in perambulators for inv-alids,and more particularly to a perambulator having a frame structure withinwhich the invalid can stand and lean upon, with a seat, when desired,upon which to sit at will, said perambulator having castors upon whichit can be moved around over the floor, with means for locking saidcastors against turning whenever desired.

Among the salient objects of the invention are: to provide a sectionalframe structure in which different sections can be detached or removedto reduce the height of the frame; to provide a type of frame structurewhich can be moved up to a bed with a part running under the bed, whilethe upper portions of said frame extended over the bed and in convenientposition for the patient to lift himself from the bed into position tomake full use of the perambulator in moving from place to place; toprovide in a perambulator of the character referred to castors on whichit can 1 be moved, with locking means within easy reach of the patientwhereby said castors can be locked at will against turning, thus makingit stationary in any adjusted position.

Other features of improvement will be apparent from the followingdescription of one practical embodiment of the invention, taken with theaccompanying sheet of drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a perambulator embodying my invention;

Figure 2 is a side elevation of a supporting castor, showing aneccentric brake or locking member;

Figure 3 is a plan view of one of the rear castors, showing a brake orlook operating connection;

Figure 4 shows three plan views, in three different positions, of one ofthe front castors with its locking means;

Figure 5 is a sectional view of a detail, taken on the line 5-5, of Fig.1; I

Figure 6 is an enlarged view, partly in section, taken on the line 66 ofFig. 1;

Figure 7 is a fragmentary view of mechanism shown in Fig. 6; v y

Figure 8 is a sectional detail of parts in Fig. 6, taken on line 8-43;

Figure 9 is a plan view looking at the mechanism for turning the castorsand also for operating the locking means for said castors;

Figure 10 is a sectional view through line IIl-I0 on Fig. 9.

Referring now in detail to the drawings, my invention as hereillustrated for explanatory purposes, includes a frame body structurehaving an upper horizontal U-frame member I I and a lower longer U-formmember I2, connected by the vertical frame members I3, I3, at thecorners with the curved brace members I4, I4, said longer U-frame memberI2 being extended and provided with vertical tubular bearing members I5,I5, having rotatably mounted therein castors, as I6, I fijsaid castorseach having mounted thereon, as seen in large View in Fi 2, a supportinarm or member I1, in the outer free end of which is a vertical shaft I8,having secured to its lower end an eccentric castor brake or look memberI9, to be turned into and out of engagement with the castor wheel I B.Inserted through the shaft I8, of the brake element or member I9, is abar 20, one end of which has attached thereto a coiled spring 2I, havingits other end attached to the member I1, as at 2|. This coiled spring'2I normally holds the eccentric member I9 in its inoperative position,as indicated in light broken lines in Fig. 3. The other end of said baror member 20 has an operating cable 22 attached thereto, which cable 22extends around a pulley 23, on a vertical member I 3, thence across toanother pulley 24, on the other vertical member I3, and thence to acorresponding bar or member 20 on the other castor, whereby said shaftsI8, I8 and their eccentric elements I9, I9 can be operated together onthe castor wheels I6, I6, as is clear from Figs. 1, 2 and 3. At thelower ends of the vertical members I3, I3, at the forward end of theperambulator, are two other castors, as 25, 25, on which are members 26,'26, similar to the members I1, I1 on the rearward castors. Thesecastors also have eccentric brake or lock elements 21, 21, on angle ends28 of a connecting rod 29, which angle ends extend through the free endsof said members 26, '26, as shown and similar to the short shafts I8, I8of the rear castors I6, I6.

In Fig. 4 are shown in plan views, three different positions of saidcastor mechanism. In these three positions the castor wheel is shown inlight broken lines, as 25. In the middle position, the

eccentric brake or locking element 21 is shown out of operating positionrelative to the wheel 25', while in the other two positions,representing the extreme opposite positions, said eccentric elements 21are in operating engagement with the castor wheels 25 at the oppositecorners 01:,

is rotatably held in a plate 32, Welded to the upper U-frame I l, asseen in Figs. 9 and 10. Said rod 31 is reduced at its upper end, as at3| and has a member 33 thereon, resting on a plate 32, and provided witha handle 34, at its outer end for turning it. A spring 35 is alsomounted on the reduced end 3| of said rod 3!, and held in place by meansof a nut 36, with a spring washer 31 thereunder, as seen in Figs. 9 and10. Said spring member 35 carries a stud or pin 38, operating through ahole 39 in the member 33, and is adapted to enter holes at and 4! in thefixed plate 32, when said member 33 is turned to the opposite sidesthereof, which will result in moving the connecting rod 29 and turningthe castors to the extreme side positions shown in Fig. 4.

Also pivotally connected with said upper U-frame member H, is adepending lever 42, to which a cable :33 is attached, with its other endconnected at Q3 with the cable 22, for pulling said cable '22, for thepurpose of operating the eccentric braiie or locking elements is, it,against the rear castor wheels, as will be understood from Figs. 1 and3. 1 Above the upper U-frame i i, are three detachable U-frames A l, 45,and 55, each having legs as 44', 55 and i3 detachably fitting with theone below, as at Al in all places. Thus this patient supportingstructure of U-frames can be built up as high as may be required for aparticular person who is to use it.

There is also provided a crutch member 48, adjustably and detachablysecured to the U-frame H, by means of a clamp as will be understood fromthe showing in Fig. 1. This crutch can'be positioned for the mostcomfortable use of the patient, Said crutch member has an arm .rest 55and a hand grip which is adjustable up and down and circumferentially,for the convenience of the person using it.

I have also shown a seat 52, which is pivotally and hingedly held at itsleft end. Two arch sup ports, as 53 and 5d, are detachably secured attheir lower ends to the rear ends of the lower U-frame i2, as at 53' and54, Fig. 1, whereby the entire seat and its supports can be detached andremoved whenever desired, thus giving free space for walking.

Referring to Fig. 5, said seat at its right hand end, as seen in Fig. 1,overlays and rests upon the arch support 5%, as at 55. The forward edgeof said seat is provided with a thicker portion, as 52, which fits intoan opening 55 in said arch -support 54, as seen in Fig. 5.

At its opposite end said seat s2 is provided with 'a pair of lugs, onits under side, as 5'5, 5'5, secured thereto and through which a pivotpin 58 is inserted, said pin serving as a hinge pin for said seat whenit is raised at its forward edge, as seen in Fig. 8, in light brokenlines. A block member 58 is shown welded to said pin 58, undersaid'seat, Fig. 6. The end of said pin 58 is provided with 'a head 55,to interfit with a corresponding head 59', with a spring 56, on aconnecting bolt 5 l to yieldingly hold said heads together, withsufficient firmness to support the free end of the seat 52 when it isswung backward on the pivot support formed by the angle part 32, in twospaced hinge lugs, as $3, Between the meeting faces of said, heads 59,and 55' is an angular interfitting and interlocking feature, designated64, and seen in Fig. 7 and Fig. 6. This increases the supportingstrength of the seat 52 when the free end thereof is swung backward andaround to the left, and at the same time makes it possible to raise thefree end of said seat by increased force to overcome the tension of thespring 60 and the interfitting element at 64.

I am aware that changes in details of construction and arrangement canbe made without departing from the spirit of my invention, and I do not,therefore, limit the invention to the showing made for purposes ofexplanation, except as I may be limited by the hereto appended claimsforming a part of this applicationv I claim:

1. In a perambulator of the character referred to, upper and lowerhorizontal U-shaped frame members supported one above the other at theirconnected ends, whereby their straight ends are open and are free to bemoved under and over a bed, into convenient position for a patient,castors on said perambulator, means for locking the castor wheelsagainst turning to prevent said perambulator from moving, a seat on theends of the lower U-shaped frame member, under the free end of the upperU-shaped frame member, said seat being movable on a hinge to open upentrance into the open ends of said U-shaped frame members by thepatient, said upper U-shaped frame members constituting supporting meansfor the arms of the patient at opposite sides, whereby the patient canstand in said U-shaped frame members, or sit upon the seat with his feetand legs in the U-shaped frame members.

2. A perambulator including a plurality of horizontal U-shaped framemembers detachably connected one above the other, and separable toreduce the height of the U-shaped structure, a lower horizontal U-shapedframe member, with castors supporting it, and connected at its archedend with the upper frame members for supporting them with their openends free to move over the top of a bed as said lower U-shaped framemember is moved under said bed, an adjustable seat at the forward endsof the lower U-shaped frame member and under the free ends of the upperU-shaped frame members, locking means for each castor wheel and meansfor manipulating said locking means within reach of the patient, wherebyhe can lock said perambulator against movement at will.

3. In a perambulator, a frame structure having castor wheels at itscorners, locking members adjustably held near each castor wheel, meansfor movingsaid locking members into locking engagement with said castorwheels to prevent them from turning on their axis, and means for turningsaid castor wheels on their supporting pivots to change the direction oftheir movement, said frame structure being of horizontal U-shaped framemembers to receive the patient between their ends, whereby the patientcan lean on the opposite sides of said U-shaped frame members. 7

4. A perambulator for invalids including a lower frame of horizontalU-shape, having castors at its ends and at its arched portion, withmeans for turning said castors as to direction, locking means for eachcastor to be moved into locking engagement with the castor wheel toprevent it from turning on its axis, said operating means being operableby the patient, upper U-shaped frame members, detachably supported oneabove the other, whereby frame members can be detached at will todecrease the height of said perambulator for the convenience of-thepatient, and a seat adjustably supported at the open ends of saidU-shaped frame members, whereby tobe moved to admit the patient intosaid frame structure.

5. In a perambulator of the character shown, a vertical frame structurecomposed of a plurality of horizontal U-shaped frames, secured together,one above the other, with their open ends in one direction, saidU-shaped frames being spaced to run under a bed and over a bed as movedup to the bed, whereby a patient can conveniently move into the openends of said U-shaped frames, with his arms over the top frame, castorwheels under the lower frame for moving said perambulator over thefloor, means for locking said castor wheels against turning on theiraxes and also means for locking said castor wheels in adjusted positionsas to directional positions, said locking means being manually operableby the patient in said perambulator, and means whereby an upperU-shap'ed frame member can be detached to lower the vertical height ofsaid frame members for more convenience for the patient.

6. In a perambulator, a plurality of horizontal U-shaped frames,connected together one above the other to receive a patient in saidU-shaped frames with his arms over the top frame, castor REFERENCESCITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 2,096,229 Dudley Oct. 19, 19372,114,586 Bowen Apr. 19, 1938 2,374,182 Duke Jan. 11, 1945 2,439,163Farmer Apr. 6, 1948 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 301,958 GreatBritain Dec. 10, 1928

